"Two fossil-fuel billionaires with close ties to Donald Trump bought millions of shares in the company they co-founded just days after a meeting with senior White House officials, who then issued a key regulatory permit that helped expand the company's fortunes in Europe. Robert Pender, an energy lawyer, and Michael Sabel, a former investment banker, are the founders and co-chairs of Venture Global, a Virginia-based company that develops and operates liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals."
"Despite the IPO being billed by Reuters as a blockbuster event, the shares opened nearly 4% below the original asking price at just over $24 each, valuing the company at $58.2bn. While substantially below the $110bn Venture Global had hoped for, Sabel and Pender who between them still owned more than 80% of the firm pocketed a paper fortune of $24bn each, according to Bloomberg."
Robert Pender and Michael Sabel bought millions of shares in Venture Global days after meeting senior White House officials who issued a permit that expanded the company's European operations. Pender is an energy lawyer and Sabel is a former investment banker; both are founders and co-chairs of Venture Global, a Virginia-based developer and operator of liquefied natural gas export terminals. Sabel attended an April 2024 Mar-a-Lago event where he reportedly requested $1bn in campaign donations from the fossil fuel industry for favorable legislation. Venture Global donated $1m to Trump's inauguration. On his first day back, Trump issued an executive order rolling back regulations to favor fossil fuel production, including LNG export licences. Three days after the inauguration Venture Global launched an IPO and highlighted the executive order in its prospectus; shares opened below the asking price, valuing the company at $58.2bn and creating paper fortunes for the founders. Senior executives' share purchases were reported to the SEC, and there has been no significant additional share-buying by Sabel since the IPO.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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